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A huge question remain as we are knee deep thick into the off-season is should the NFL give Adam Pacman Jones another chance?  The NFL cannot deny the pure athletic ability that Jones as and I believe that there are a few teams that would be interested in acquiring him.

We all know the kind of trouble that Pacman has gotten himself into the past three years but lets take a look at his successful collegiate career. Aside from his collegiate sports career, Jones was an Athletic Coaching Education major and a member of the Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll. As a freshman in 2002, Jones appeared in 11 games for WVU as a reserve cornerback and safety. He totaled one interception and one forced fumble with 36 tackles. During the 2003 campaign, he appeared in all 13 games, starting 9 at cornerback, and taking over full-time kick return and punt return duties.

Pacman Jones’ second season resulted in a second team All-Big East Conference selection with his career-high 89 tackles and four interceptions, one being for a touchdown. He also had six tackles for losses, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. He also had a career-high 14 broken up passes that season as well. In one of his best games of the year, against Boston College, Jones scored two touchdowns in a 35-28 win over the Eagles, one a 87-yard kick return and the other a 47-yard interception return. Jones also had a career-high 12 tackles against Miami. Jones totaled 98 punt return yards on 16 punt returns and 867 kick return yards, including an 87-yard touchdown return.

Pacman Jones is ranked second on West Virginia’s school career kickoff return yardage list with 1,475 yards. He is also ranked eleventh on the school’s career punt return yardage list with 404 yards, while his 10.92 yards per punt return is the sixth most in school history. Jones is one of the highest players from West Virginia drafted as well, second to Hall of Famer Sam Huff who was drafted third overall. Jones and fellow-Mountaineer great Major Harris also shared the number #9 while playing in college.

After his junior year, Jones opted to forgo his senior year and declare eligible for the NFL Draft. He was the first defensive player drafted, taken 6th overall by the Tennessee Titans in the 2005 NFL Draft and received a lot of praise by Titan fans. He then missed most of training camp, holding out in a contract dispute. After Jones had signed the deal with the Titans, he donated money to the 100 Club, a charity that financially supports the families of firefighters, police, and emergency workers , a fact that a lot of reporters do not make public.

Also in 2005, Jones traveled to Pearl Cohn High School in Nashville, Tennessee to help the school after one of its football players died in a car crash that also injured others on the team. Jones reached out to them during the season, making at least two trips to visit the team for encouragement. Additionally, Jones donated money so Nashville firefighters and police officers could get new uniforms. This was a sign of Pacman Jones that while as I said is not reported, it has to be admired.

Near the 2007 NFL Draft, Jones’s off-field issues (one revealed instance involved in a fist fight and a shooting in a Las Vegas strip club that paralyzed one man) led many to believe that the Titans’ would cut or trade Jones before his third season in the league began. On April 10, 2007, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced a 1-year suspension for Jones, to be re-evaluated after the 10th regular-season game, pending disposition of current cases. The fact that Titans did not act on releasing Jones definitely did raise some eyebrows.

The suspension has been appealed and Jones took out a full ad in the Tennessean, promising “he’ll win back trust” of his teammates and fans.” Jones also wrote in the letter, his plans to re-enroll and finish his degree at West Virginia University. “The basis of the appeal … will be to clarify some of the facts and address the unprecedented punishment that was imposed,” Jones wrote in the letter. However on June 12, Jones withdrew his appeal. Pacman is hoping his suspension doesn’t keep him out of training camp or preseason games, his agent said on July 17.

On November 5, 2007, it was reported that Pacman Jones would not be allowed to be reinstated during the 2007 season after meeting with Roger Goodell. Tennessee running back LenDale White told The Tennessean that he thinks that “53 of 53″ Titans’ players would want Jones to return to the team. Quarterback Vince Young said, “We are going to do well without him, we can do well with him…”.On December 13, 2007, the NFL agreed to hear the player’s union’s appeal on Pacman’s behalf. The player’s union appealed Roger Goodell’s decision to not allow Jones to be reinstated during the 2007 season..

On February 1, 2008, ESPN reported that that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell remains “disappointed” in Pacman Jones and that he will most likely not be reinstated after the Super Bowl. The NFL will review Jones after the 2008 Pro Bowl. It was also reported that the Tennessee Titans would try to trade Jones, if reinstated. A huge question remains do they actually think that with everything that has went down with Jones that the Titans really believe that they can get anything for Jones?

The fact remains that Pacman Jones was heading into the NFL with a very clear head. To my knowledge, Jones didn’t even have a police record until he signed that the big five year deal he did with the Titans. I definitely think that he has to be responsible for his actions but how responsible are the Titans for keeping him on the roster?? Pacman Jones is more of a “celebrity” because he is still on a NFL team than he would be if he wasn’t on a team.  I think with the fame comes the temptation of going to the strip club etc and Jones jumped into the temptations and I think he is addicted to that kind of “high life”. I think if he gets the counseling that he deserves and sits down with Roger Goddell and then we can see if he deserves another shot at the NFL.